The Commuters
by AutumnDreamer
Summary: After a long, tiresome day Bella meets Edward on the commute home from NYC and spends sixty-two minutes with the handsome stranger. Written for the Support Stacie Author Auction.
1. Sun Chip Gaydar

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**A/N: **This story is _**not**_ intended to be a long multi-chapter deal. Back in April 2009 I took part in the Support Stacie Author Auction. I never thought a bid would go over $20 for me. Let's face it, I'm not a popular author and I only have one "major" story under my belt. I ended up being sold to Mythic Victory/Melanie for $125 for a 2,500 word story. This chapter is over 2,500 words and there will be at least one more chapter. All the money from the auction goes towards Stacie's medical bills because she has breast and ovarian cancer and no medical insurance. Cancer has touched my family deeply so I decided to put myself up for auction to raise any money I could to help a person I've never even met. The next auction is in September 2009. Please consider joining as an author or a bidder. I plan on offering my graphic services in September.

While I loved Mel's original idea for me, I knew I wasn't capable of following through on what she wanted. The day before Easter I made a trip down to NYC with my mother and her friend to see the Blueman Group. While waiting at Secaucus Junction for our train, I checked my email from my phone and read her idea. While it didn't click with me, that night inspired me and planted a story in my head. This is the result. For more info on what inspired this story, please see the end A/N.

**Rating: **M (mostly for language)

**CHAPTER 1: SUN CHIP GAYDAR**

Not again.

"Ya gotta go to _Good Fellas_. It's on Staten Island off Hylan Boulevard. Make sure you go to Hylan Boulevard, it's the best one. Here, take a look at this. I bought a few slices to take to my mother." The man opened the small pizza box and, indeed, there were three slices of pizza with vegetables laid upon it that looked quite delicious. "It beats anything you got in that bag from Zaro's."

"I'll remember that," I said, turning my head away from him. It wasn't bad enough that I had to go into work on a Saturday. The 6:07 train from Penn Station left five minutes later than it was scheduled to, which made me miss my connection at Secaucus Junction. Rather than wait for over three hours in Secaucus with absolutely nothing to do, a limited food selection, and hard wooden benches, I headed back to the city.

Originally, I should have been home and taking a relaxing warm bath by 8:30. It was now well past 8:30, and I was sitting across from a man who wouldn't shut up. Every time I thought he was finished talking to me, his head would turn back in my direction and he'd start yapping on about something. Even when I closed my eyes, he didn't seem to get the hint.

I was tired, my feet hurt, and I wanted to be left alone. I was cranky, PMSing, and my ankles felt swollen from balancing on a pair of five-inch high heels all day.

When the stranger announced that his stop was next, I wanted to get down on my knees and thank whatever higher power above that made it possible, and I hadn't been inside of a church in years. The train was slowing down to make the stop at Glen Rock. I had dealt with him for twenty minutes.

Twenty.

Very.

Long.

Minutes.

Finally! Peace and quiet. I had my sanity back.

I did for five minutes at least.

_Hey, yo, you up there, SCREW YOU!_

A young kid sat down across from me and was compelled to tell me at least half his life story. Although I didn't know his name or social security number, I soon found out that he was twenty-two, had a fourteen month old daughter who lived in Queens with her mother, why he wasn't with the mother of his child, where he worked, what street he lived on, that Applebee's employees must wear lavender shirts on Easter, names of his sisters, that he had an uncle who moved to North Carolina because one of his cousins was killed in a car accident two years ago, and that he was attempting to get his CDL license.

Oh, he's trying for his _CDL class A license_. There's a difference? I didn't know what it was, but there seemed to be. He was very adamant that he was going for his CDL class A license. I wanted to tell him that I didn't honestly give a fuck what class license he was trying to obtain.

There was more. Trust me, there was even more information he passed onto me. I just… zoned out for a while. It was weird that he never got the hint to shut the hell up. I was always too nice for my own good. I should have told these people that I wanted to be left alone. I wasn't going to get home until after 11:30, and I was simply exhausted.

_I'm going to stab myself in both ears and remove my ear drums._

I was tempted to do cart wheels when the train stopped in Ramsey and he said goodbye. Sixty-two minutes until I could disembark, walk to my car, and go home. I set the alarm on my phone for 11:09—ten minutes before my scheduled stop. Leaning back, I closed my eyes and nearly thirty seconds later felt a movement to my right.

_Motherfucker!_

First of all, I had to stop swearing to myself so much. It was bad. I was going to go to hell. Secondly, people needed to learn how to leave me the hell alone. I was sitting at the end of the car which had two seats facing each other. The two men that had talked my ear off earlier had sat across from me. However, I knew this time was different. I felt a presence very close to me. At least it was a human presence.

I was by the window and someone had sat down on the seat opposite me but at the end. Daring to open my eyes, my jaw almost fell to the floor at the sight near me. Even though he was sitting, I could tell that the man was tall. His head was back against the seat and his reddish-brown hair, which needed to be cut, was in major disarray. He had a strong jaw line that I wanted to reach out to and trail kisses along.

_See? This is what I'm talking about! If you're going to have someone sit with me, let them be the silent and handsome type. _

I was staring, practically drooling over the specimen, when his eye closest to me popped open and caught me staring at him. His head rolled in my direction, his other eye opened, and he smiled at me. He had he most beautiful green eyes that I had ever seen.

"I'm tired. It looked like you were tired. I thought it'd be good if we both slept together," he explained, flustered. "Wait, that didn't come out quite right."

"You figured that if we were both sitting here half asleep that no one would bother us?" I asked.

"That's what I meant," he nodded. "No matter how tired I am, I can't fall asleep on the train. I'm always paranoid that I'm going to miss my stop."

"Yeah, me too." I stifled a yawn. "I don't need to end up at the end of the line and have to figure out how to get back to my stop."

"If you don't mind me asking, which stop is yours?"

"Campball Hall, you?"

"Same here," he replied with a grin. "Name?"

"I've got one."

He chuckled. "Edward."

"Me Bella."

"You get a little punchy when you're tired, huh?"

"You'll have to excuse my behavior," I said. "I'm tired, hungry, and my feet hurt."

"What's with the Zaro's bag?" he asked. "Garbage?"

"Stupidest thing, are you ready for a story?"

Edward leaned back against the seat and crossed his arms across his chest. "All ready for story time."

"So, I should've been on the 6:07 train but it left late and I missed the connection in Secaucus." He had a slight smile on his lips as I spoke. "There is nothing to do in Secaucus, so I decided to go back to the city for three hours until the next train. I went to K-Mart, Borders, and then stopped at Zaro's. I wanted to make sure that I got back to Secaucus in time, and I rushed out of Zaro's and forgot to get mayo. I love their sandwiches, but they are too dry without anything on them. I'd settle for mustard if I had it."

"Your kingdom for some mustard!"

"So, here I sit starving with a sandwich I can't eat for some weird psychological food-related reason."

"Oh, dare I ask what type of sandwich did you purchase?"

"Oven roasted turkey with cranberry relish."

Edward leaned forward between his feet and picked up his brief case. He opened it up while balancing it on his lap. "So, Me Bella."

I giggled. "Bella."

"I have a story of my own to tell," he said. "That is, if you don't mind." I nodded, silently urging him to continue.

"I also missed the 6:07 train and should have been home by now," he informed me. "I can't believe we missed the connection by five minutes! Five minutes! Anyway, you fared much better than I did. I stayed in Secaucus and I ended up being tortured by five bored but sugar-high circus-attending children. Don't get me wrong, I like kids, but their mother clearly saw that her children were annoying me and didn't say one word."

"You poor man," I said. "I remember seeing those…things."

"Yes, those creatures tried repeatedly to put their pointy-shaped hats on me and kept waving some kind of wand in my face. None of their spells worked and I'm not really a toad, am I?" he asked seriously.

"You don't look like any type of toad that I've ever seen." I was no princess, but I'd gladly kiss him if he thought he was a toad and wanted me to break the spell.

"That's a relief," he sighed. "Anyway, back to my point. By the time I thought of getting something to eat, that little newsstand place was closed. I don't know about you, but the peanut M&M's that I got out of the machine aren't exactly my idea of a healthy meal."

"What does any of this have to do with the fact that I've got a condiment-less sandwich?"

"I had lunch with a friend at Bryant Park today."

"I am totally lost," I admitted. "You're all over the place."

"My point, sweetie, is that we needed condiments, I had my briefcase, there were extras and, for some reason, I shoved them into a pocket in here." Edward dug into a compartment in his briefcase before he extracted both of his hands with a flourish, each holding one packet of mayo and one packet of mustard. "You've got the sandwich and I've got the condiments. We're both about to pass out from starvation. Let's help each other out, shall we?"

"I have one stipulation."

Edward raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh, and that would be?"

"I get the mayo," I said firmly. "I'm not fond of mustard on sandwiches."

He winked at me. "So much for settling for mustard."

"In this case I have a choice _and_ a bargaining chip."

Edward dangled the packet of mayo in front of him. "You drive a hard bargain, but it's a deal."

Slowly I opened the paper bag bearing the Zaro's name and brought out the neatly wrapped sandwich. Unwrapping it, I placed half of the sandwich on a napkin and held it out to Edward. "The mayo, kind sir?" I asked with an outstretched hand.

Edward leaned over and placed the packet of mayo in my hand. His fingertips lightly grazed my palm, and I held my breath at the contact between us.

_You freakin' moron, he's a stranger and you're getting your panties all in a twist over him._

"Enjoy your sandwich," I said, the words struggling to leave my lips.

Edward placed his sandwich on his now closed brief case. "Oh, I will," he said, clearing his throat. "Thank you very much for taking pity on a complete stranger."

"Maybe we won't be complete strangers by the end of the trip." The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them. I took a bite of my sandwich to shut myself up.

Edward smiled at me. "It wouldn't be the worst thing that happened to me on a train ride home."

When I dug into the paper Zaro's bag, Edward took notice of the final piece of what would be our meal. "Oooooh, Sun Chips," he said.

"Are you straight?" I asked, immediately regretting it and wincing at the words. I sprinkled some of the Sun Chips out on the paper wrapper with my sandwich and passed the rest of the bag over to Edward.

"What does my affection for Sun Chips have to do with my sexuality?"

"I've never met a straight man who showed that much enthusiasm for Sun Chips."

Edward raised a chip in the air and studied it quietly for a moment, placed it into his mouth, and munched on it. "I didn't know I showed that much enthusiasm for Sun Chips," he said. "I think they taste good and they're a healthier alternative to potato chips."

"I will have to report that my Sun Chip gaydar was royally off in this case."

"Oh, please do clear my innocence and straight name in the name of Sun Chip gaydar." He was laughing and shaking his head. "You sound like my sister."

"Really?" I took another bite of my sandwich. "Do tell."

"There's not much to tell." He reached for an unopened plastic bottle of water in his lap. He motioned it toward me, and I pointed to my own water on the seat next to me. Edward opened the bottle and took a long drink from it. "Other than my sister has a similar weird wacked out theory about Sun Chips and sexuality. She teases me all the time."

"Want me to beat her up for you?" I asked with a laugh. "I'm not much of a fighter though. I might only succeed in scratching her and making her bleed."

"Oh, I don't know, I seem like you could be a scrapper under the right circumstances."

"Me?" Now finished with my sandwich and chips, I gathered my garbage into the paper bag. "I've never even pulled another girl's hair in a bathroom fight."

"Would you fight for love?"

His question threw me for a loop. "What?"

"Would you fight for love?" he repeated.

"I…" I trailed off because I had no idea of how to continue. I had never been in a relationship that was worth fighting for. "When the only person who has supposedly loved you cheated on you with one of your best friends, is love really worth fighting for?"

"Omph, sorry to hear that," he winced, and I embarrassingly glanced out the window. "Given the right circumstances, you seem like the type who would fight for what she wanted. Be it for a family member, for a loved one, or for the right for nice, straight men to enjoy Sun Chips."

My shoulders shook with laughter as I turned back in Edwards's direction. "You have a way with words, do you know that?"

"Mom always told me I should have been an English professor."

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living?" I asked curiously.

"I stalk beautiful women on trains and talk them out of their food," he said with a sly smile. "You were my latest prey."

I laughed again at his silliness. It had been a while since I had laughed this much. "No, really, what do you do for a living?"

"I work at a law firm."

"Sweet."

"Yes you are."

"Ha ha, funny."

"You are. You took pity on this poor Sun Chip-loving straight man. What do you do for a living?" I hesitated, and he knew it. "Come on, spill it."

"I work at ESPN," I said reluctantly.

"_I love you_."

"What?" I thought Edward was normal and here he is professing his love for me because of where I work.

"Sorry, too soon?"

"Oh, just a wee bit."

"Do you like sports?" he asked. "Or are you just behind the scenes?"

"I'm behind the scenes," I explained. "I can put up with baseball, but that's about it. The biggest name in whatever sport could walk through the door and I wouldn't know who they were."

Edward pretended to clutch his chest. "Oooh, you're breaking my heart here, sweetie."

"You told me you loved me a minute ago and now I'm already breaking your heart?"

"Our relationship is moving at break neck speed as you can see."

"Considering that our relationship is coming to an end in about twenty-five minutes, it might be normally paced." His eyes were trained on me, but he was silent. For the first time since our meeting, things were slightly uncomfortable between us. I put my feet up on the seat across from me and stretched out.

"If you want to close your eyes I'll make sure you make your stop," he offered.

"I'm pretty awake now," I explained. "My feet are killing me. I hate heels."

His hands moved toward my achy feet, glided gently over them, and then he paused. "Do you mind?"

"Not unless you have some kind of weird foot fetish."

"No fetish," he said as he took one of my heel-battered feet lightly into his hands. His warm fingertips gently massaged my foot. I was extremely ticklish and held back breaking out in laughter several times. The pleasure I felt far outweighed the urge to laugh. His hands moved over to my other foot, slowly massaging it in the same manner. It felt so damn good.

"Oh my God, you're going to make me orgasm." I slapped both my hands over my mouth, and Edward stared at me with a horrified expression. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Uh huh," he eked out with a shake of his head.

"Can I watch?" A loud intoxicated sounding male voice came from a few seats behind us, and I heard a shuffle of feet along with female laughter.

Edward squinted and looked in the direction of the voice. "This ain't no peep show, sit down!"

The man grumbled and must've sat down because Edward relaxed back into his seat. "I'm sorry, that was really stupid of me," I apologized.

"You were just telling me how I made you feel," he said with one hand resting on my ankle while his thumb was drawing invisible patterns.

At that moment, I was so torn. A half an hour ago I couldn't wait until I reached my stop and was able to go home. I needed to get off that train and away from Edward. His very presence was making me more intoxicated and stupid than the drunken man a few seats behind us. And yet, at the same time, I wanted to stay on the train and miss my stop, to be near him _because_ of how he made me feel. I wanted to feel drunk and lusty and gushy and all weird because of Edward. It felt good. No, not just good… there were more o's in the way I was feeling. More like goooooooood.

Hence the almost orgasm in a train. Wasn't that illegal?

"Maybe you should have become a massage therapist."

"If this law thing doesn't work out, yeah, you know, massage therapist is totally my back up plan."

"Is giving a woman an orgasm from a foot massage in public a punishable crime?" I asked with a smile.

"I don't believe it is," he said. "As long as I stick with your feet."

I turned my right foot towards him and tapped his hand. "Then, please do continue your ministrations."

For the next fifteen minutes I enjoyed the foot massage. I enjoyed his company and conversation. I savored every minute of it, aware that it was soon going to be over.

_Next stop, Salisbury Mills_

The recorded voice said in what I now considered a very condescending tone. I glanced at my watch.

_11:06_

Damn it, we were running on time. Two more minutes until we reached Salisbury Mills. Eleven minutes after that, we'd reach the Campball Hall station. In eleven minutes I might never lay my eyes on Edward ever again.

I felt the train come to a stop, and it waited for anyone getting off at the stop. I closed my eyes and pushed my head back into the seat. Edward sat quietly across from me, his hand now on my calf, gently gliding over it

_11:08_

Eleven minutes until I would never feel Edward's touch again.

Opening my eyes, I caught Edward staring intensely at me. Instead of turning my head, I kept my gaze transfixed with his. He never looked away from me, not for a moment. I worked on memorizing his face. My fingers yearned to touch it and learn every contour, curve, dip, flaw, and perfection.

It was at times like these that a decent camera on my cell phone would really come in handy. But no, I had a crappy cell phone camera which needed excellent outdoor lighting to take a halfway decent picture. So I continued to stare and so did Edward.

_Next stop, Campball Hall_

Fake female computer voice, I hate you. You mock me.

_Two minutes._

I was being stupid and irrational. I didn't want to leave a man I had met just sixty minutes before. But I didn't. I didn't want to leave him. I wanted to stay with him. I wanted him to make me laugh. I wanted to go and get a cup of coffee with him. I wanted… GUH. I wanted to get to know him more. Hell, I wanted to find out if he was good at massaging any other body parts.

Exhaling, I sat up and slowly moved my feet to the floor and into my shoes. Edward straightened up and gathered his belongings, and I did the same. I grabbed the Zaro's bag with our garbage in it and stood up. Together, we stood in the seat face to face as the train came to a stop, and it lulled our bodies in a sort of slow swaying dance.

_This stop is Campball Hall_

I wanted to choke that bitch of a computer voice. Edward turned and moved out of the seat and motioned for me to go, so I slid out and walked toward the exit. Upon exiting I could feel Edward close behind me. Spotting a trash can on the platform, I headed toward it and threw out our garbage. I turned and Edward was still there.

"Can I walk you to your car?"

I clutched the strap of my messenger bag. "Um, sure."

Now that we were alone together, I felt awkward. The train slowly chugged along the tracks onto its next destination. I hardly knew Edward, but I was alone with him in a dimly lit, unsecured parking lot. Two minutes ago I was downright depressed that I'd never see him again. Now, I was paranoid that I was alone with him.

I felt his hand on my lower back, guiding me as we walked. "Bella, thanks for keeping me company and for feeding me," he said as I dug my keys out of my bag. "If everyone I met on the train was as nice as you, I wouldn't mind the commute so much."

I stopped in front of my car and clutched my keys in my right hand. "Thanks for the foot massage."

"What are you doing tomorrow?" He quickly changed the subject.

"A new friend of mine invited me to Easter dinner," I replied.

"Oh, you don't have family here?"

"It's not that," I explained. "I actually live with my father. He's not big on most holidays. I think Thanksgiving is his favorite because of the food and the football."

"Ahh, a man after my own heart." He smiled crookedly at me. "Some flag football with the boys, turkey, and dessert later on is the perfect holiday for me."

Edward placed his briefcase on roof of my car and popped it open. In the movies this is where the rapist would bring out a can of mace to immobilize their victim. Instead, Edward grabbed a pen and wrote on a piece of paper. He handed it to me, but I couldn't read it very well in the dark.

"It's my number and email address," he said shyly. "It sounds like you may have been hurt recently, so I'll leave it up to you. I'd like to see you again. If you only want to be friends, that's fine too." His head dipped at the word "friend."

I wanted to jump into his arms and tell him that I wanted to see him again too. But I didn't. I played it safe. "Thanks." I tried reading the words but couldn't. "I can't read this out here, so I hope you wrote everything so I can read it."

"I have very good penmanship, thank you." He extended his hand towards me. "I hope to hear from you or see you soon."

I tucked the paper with his information on it into my bag and then I took his hand in mine and squeezed it. "Thank you for being such a gentleman."

"My momma didn't raise no fool."

"I'd like to meet your momma one day to thank her."

"That can be arranged." I loosened my grip on his hand, and he let me go. "Have a good night, sleep well, Bella."

I opened my car door and slid inside. My car had been closed up all day, so I rolled the window down to get some fresh air inside. "Goodnight, Edward," I said through the cracked window.

He waited as I started the engine, and then Edward walked over to his car. As he was opening the door, the lights from my car shined on his figure. He turned and waved at me, and I waved back.

For the entire ride I could barely contain my excitement. I bounced in my seat, and I knew I had a smile as wide as a city bus plastered on my face.

"I got a guy's number, I got a guy's number!" I sang to myself. Once I pulled into the driveway of the house, I shut up but did a weird dance up the front steps of the porch.

It was an embarrassing dance full of horrible moves and clumsiness, but it was my happy dance. And no one was going to take that away from me.

**A/N:** The day before Easter my mother, her friend, and I went to NYC to see the Blueman Group. On the way back home we missed our connecting train at Secaucus Junction. The next train that would take us home wouldn't be in for over three hours. There were kids running around because they had gone to Ringling Brother's Circus at Madison Square Garden and they missed the train too. We went back to Manhattan to waste time and looked around K-Mart. We got sandwiches at the Zaro's in Penn Station. I bought an oven roasted turkey sandwich with cranberry relish. We were all tired but a guy across from the aisle from us insisted on talking to us about Goodfella's on Hylan Boulevard on Staten Island. After he left a young 22-year old male took his seat and told us everything but his name and social security number. The town names I mentioned are real. However, I did not meet my own version of Edward on the train.

A girl can dream, right? I do think I'll be finding Goodfella's this summer to see if the pizza is as good as the guy said. I checked their website and they've won an award for like, best pizza in the world or something.


	2. Another 62 Minutes in Heaven

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

A/N: Again, this story was written because of the Support Stacie Auction back in April. I put in my application (and hope to be accepted) for the September Support Stacie Auction. It takes place September 11-14th, 2009. I hope to also offer my graphic services for icons, banners, and wallpapers. If you're not aware of the site for the auction, please check my profile on ff[dot]net.

For those of you who read _Legacy_, yeah, don't worry, I'm working on Chapter 26.

**CHAPTER 2: ANOTHER 62 MINUTES IN HEAVEN**

"Wake up, damn it!" I jumped up and down on my brother's bed. He was drunk as a skunk, and I aimed to punish him. His massive form turned quickly, and I jumped out of the way in order not to get crushed.

"Fuck off, man," he mumbled, half asleep.

"Wake up, you son of a bitch, I need to talk to you." I demanded. "It's about a girl!"

Emmett shot up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. "You want to talk to _me_ about a girl? The world is ending, isn't it?"

"No, the world isn't ending."

"Get me a glass of water and an aspirin and I will gladly pass on my years of experience to you," he ordered.

I tried not to snort at his words and landed on the floor with a loud thud. "I'll be right back. Stay awake!"

"Yeah, yeah." The words came out slowly like he was already half asleep.

I ran to the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and filled it with cold tap water. On the way back to Emmett's room I stopped in the bathroom, raided the medicine cabinet, and removed two tablets from the bottle. When I reentered Emmett's room, I found him asleep in a most uncomfortable looking pose—he had propped his upper body up on his elbows, but he had fallen asleep, his arms collapsed and his head now resting on his raised knees.

I kicked the end of the bed. "Wake up!"

Emmett jolted awake and shook his head at me. "Gotta find out how to disown you. Gimme the goods," he said, bleary eyed. I passed the glass of water and aspirin to him. Emmett swallowed the aspirin and chugged down the water. "Okay, what is it you want again?"

"Some advice about a girl."

Emmett lay back down across his bed and stretched out. I stood there awkwardly because he was completely naked under the thin sheet that covered him, and it was dangerously low on his hips. I really didn't care to see my brother naked. "Oh, that's right, the world is ending. What is it?"

"How long should it take a girl to call if she is interested in you?" I asked nervously.

Once again, Emmett jolted straight up in bed. "What? You gave a girl your number? Way to go, bro!"

"Yes, I did, and now I'm a nervous wreck about it," I confessed. "If she doesn't call in say, a week, should I give up?"

"I think so, but I'm not sure. Girls might like to torture us more. Hey, Rosie?" Emmett turned away from me to the other side of the bed to where I assumed his fiancée Rosalie usually slept if she stayed over. She wasn't there though. "Rosie? Oh my God, Rosie, where are you?" Emmett quickly shifted to the other side of the bed and searched the floor. Not finding Rosie, Emmett hung off the bed more and searched underneath it. "Rosie, baby, where are you?"

"Emmett, cover your ass!" I looked away from him and closed my eyes. "It's hanging in the air, and now I'm scarred for life."

"I don't care that you're seeing my ass right now! Where the hell is my fiancée? I lost Rosie!" he said anxiously.

"She was with you on the train last night," I said. Thankfully Emmett gathered the sheet and covered himself with it. It was too late though, I knew I'd have nightmares about this experience. "I don't know where she went after that."

"Wait, what? How do you know we were on the train?" he asked, full of confusion.

"I guess I succeeded in hiding from you," I confessed. "You were drunk. Do you remember hearing a woman a few seats back saying something having an orgasm?"

"Uh…" He sat on his bed trying to remember the previous night. Emmett had that weird expression on your face when you're trying to remember something and you just can't quite remember what you're trying to remember. The bruise on his cheek, which I didn't remember seeing before, added to the hilarity of the situation. "I'm not sure," he finally admitted.

I filled Emmett in about meeting Bella on the train, giving her a foot massage, and how he almost ruined my time with her. "I heard female giggling next to you, so I'm guessing it was Rosie. Not unless you're whoring around town now. When our stop came up, we got off at opposite ends of the car. I didn't want to have to admit to Bella that I'm related to you."

"Gee, thanks!" Emmett grabbed his cell phone from his night stand and pressed and held down a number on the keypad. "Rosie? Oh, thank God it's you. I woke up and didn't know where you were. Are you okay, baby?"

Emmett ended up hearing an earful from a very unhappy Rosie. I eventually learned that Rosie had driven them back to our house because by the time they had disembarked the train, she was sober. Rosie had tried to help Emmett into the house, but he was so loud that he woke up our parents. Our father, Carlisle, went downstairs to help but not before Emmett threw up on Rosie's new shoes, which were open toed.

_Ew_.

Rosie was so pissed that she went and punched Emmett right in the face, hence the bruise on his cheek. On the way home last night I had stopped on the side of the road and gazed at the stars while thinking about what happened on the train. The entire fracas with Emmett must've happened before I got home, or, otherwise, I'm sure it would have woken me up as well.

"Dude, you so owe her a pair of shoes," I said. "Not to mention kissing her ass for months over this. Strangely enough, I think you like kissing her ass."

"I don't know if there is a pair of shoes in this world that will make her happy now."

"You are so whipped."

"Shut up!" Emmett said with a laugh. "Look at you. All twisted up because of a girl you just met."

"What did Rosie say about that situation?" I asked nervously. "What'd she say?"

"After a week, if Bella doesn't call, then she probably doesn't have any interest in you," he said. "If she does like you, she might only make you wait a day or two so she doesn't seem overly eager and whorish." I scowled at Emmett. "Rosie said it, not me!"

There was a loud knock on the door before it was flung open, and our sister Alice flew inside. "Good morning!"

Emmett held his head between both of his hands. "No, no, quiet, I need quiet! Shhh, soft voice, Mary Alice!"

He never, ever learned. You didn't tell Alice what to do in a rude fashion and expected to get away with it. She stood facing him with both hands planted firmly on her hips and started to sing very loudly. "La la la la la la, how's this for quiet? La la la la la la laaaaaaaaaaa."

"Okay, you've tortured him enough… for now," I told him with my voice raised slightly louder than it needed to be. "What's up, Alice?"

"You know that Mom let me take over Easter dinner for today, but I need your help. I've never cooked and gotten things ready for this many people before!" she said excitedly.

"How many people did you invite? I thought it was just family?"

Alice started to count on her fingers. "Let's see, it's going to be me, Jasper, you, Emmett, Rose, Mom, Dad, one of Dad's associates from the hospital, cousin Melanie and Kevin, Grandma and Grandpa Cullen, and a new friend of mine."

"Two strays, family, and future family," I noted. "Not bad. What do you need me to do?"

"Both of you take a shower, change, and get your asses downstairs," Alice instructed.

"Me too?" Emmett asked. "Oy vey."

"Emmett, if I don't see you downstairs in fifteen minutes I'm going to shove an oy up in your vey."

"That doesn't even make sense!" he said, jumping from his bed with the sheet wrapped around him.

"If you think about it, it sure does," I said. "I'll be down soon. I'm not too sure about Hangover Harry though."

Leaving Emmett's room, I went to take a shower and get dressed. I heard my brother dragging himself out of his room and to the bathroom. Knowing that he wasn't going to be of much use to Alice, I made my way downstairs to help her. I knew she was nervous being in charge of Easter dinner. I wasn't sure why we were still calling it Easter dinner when it was being served at three o'clock in the afternoon.

As I rounded the corner to the kitchen I heard Alice laughing and a male voice that didn't belong to her boyfriend Jasper. "Alright sister dear, what do need my help with?"

"Edward! I'm so glad you're here now. Can you and James wrap the silverware for me?" I glanced at the man who was standing much too close to my baby sister. "This is Dr. James Willengrand, one of Dad's colleagues from the hospital. James, this is my brother, Edward."

James and I checked each other out. He seemed to be in his late thirties, and he was shorter than me, maybe five foot six. His light blond hair was slicked down by what looked like a vat of grease. Was he a mechanic or a doctor? James slid his flimsy looking eye glasses back up his nose. "Hello, Edward. So very nice to meet another one of Carlisle's children."

I disliked him instantly. He seemed awfully… smarmy.

"Ah, one of the strays. Nice to meet you, too," I hoped I sounded convincing enough. "Would you mind helping yourself to something at the bar while I talk to my sister for a moment?"

I directed Willengrand to den where Dad had built a small bar and then quickly returned to the kitchen. "Why is he here already? Mom and Dad aren't back yet!"

Alice rubbed her temples. "I wish Dad had never invited him. From Dad's description, I thought he was a totally nice guy. I was going to introduce him to my friend Izzy, but he seems soooo slimy. He's been doing nothing but hitting on me! I can't wait for Jasper to get here. Or Dad. I don't know why he's here so early!"

"Some friend you are," I said. "I'd hate to be your enemy. Who'd you hook this girl up with if you didn't like her?"

"You!" Alice stuck her tongue out at me. "Shut up."

I went into the dining room and started to wrap the silverware up into the fancy washable napkins how Alice had instructed me. James joined me, and it made the chore go very quickly. When Emmett finally made his way downstairs, still bleary eyed and hung over, I told him to get hydrated, and talked them both into watching some TV while I stayed in the kitchen and guarded Alice. Emmett was never any good in a kitchen anyway.

Soon after, Mom and Dad arrived with Grandma and Grandpa Cullen. Grandma wanted us all to pose for pictures. She had a new digital camera which she still didn't know how to use right—Emmett pointed out the fact that she was holding the LCD screen out toward us. Poor Grandma was literally blinded by the light of the flash. Jasper and Rosie showed up together, and Rosie proceeded to give Emmett the cold shoulder. She stuck to Alice like glue for a bit and warded off James, who sulked in the corner ever since he saw Jasper kiss Alice.

Poor baby.

"Edward, can you get the door?" Alice asked from archway of the kitchen. "It's probably Izzy."

"I didn't hear the doorbell," I said.

"I thought I heard a car pull up in the driveway. It might be her," she explained. "_Oh!_ You have to do me another favor! Be nice to Izzy. Hell, pretend to be her boyfriend! Just keep Dr. Creepazoid away from her."

"Alice, you know I hate it when you do this shit to me!" I whined and I knew it. It was unmanly, but I didn't care at the moment. Okay, I did care, but I couldn't help it. I didn't know what this Izzy girl was like. Alice made friends with everyone. She could be a transvestite for all I knew.

"She's a very nice girl!" Alice chided me. "Now, be nice to her!"

The doorbell rang but before I could head out of the kitchen we heard James loudly announce that he'd get the door. Uh oh.

"Oh my God, damage control, move your ass!" Alice grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the foyer. "Be nice and show interest, please! I'm sure she'll appreciate it after she meets James."

Dr. Creepazoid had the front door halfway open and my view of Alice's friend was obstructed. I heard another male voice with Izzy that didn't belong to James.

"Ms. Isabella, it's lovely to make your acquaintance," James said confidently. For her sake, I hoped the poor girl wasn't falling for his tricks. "I'm Dr. James Willengrand, a colleague of Alice's father."

James leaned over slightly to kiss her hand, and I saw the girl's face. As she raised her hand to meet his lips, I saw her grimace at his action.

"Bella?"

At the sound of her name being called, she whipped her hand away from James. Our eyes locked on each other.

"Edward?"

The man standing behind Bella cleared his throat. "I'm Charlie, Bella's father. I presume you're Alice? Bella kept on insisting that you invited me, but if I wasn't expected I can go back home."

Alice snuck a look at me before turning to Charlie. "Oh, no, no, don't even think of it! I did invite you, wasn't expecting you but that's no problem whatsoever. We have plenty of food and space. Come on in you two."

Alice and I took their coats and hung them in the closet by the front door. "Good to see you again, Bella. Sir, it's very nice to meet you." Charlie shook hands with me but glared at me suspiciously.

"That's right, it's Bella," Alice grinned. "I'm sorry we've only known each other for two weeks! I don't know why I keep thinking you're an Izzy."

"That's okay, Alice," Bella said with a smile. "I'm sorry, I should have called you to double check about bringing Charlie. Are you sure it's okay?"

"No problemo!" Alice said happily. "Now, my brother and I have to finish up some things in the kitchen. Let me show you to the living room."

Bella looked at me with shock when Alice said the word 'brother'. We showed them to the living room and introduced them to our parents, Emmett, Rosie, and Jasper. Bella was standing mere inches away from me when Emmett greeted her.

"Why does his voice seem so familiar?" she whispered.

"Can I watch?" I said.

"What?"

"Can I watch?" I repeated. "Does that sound familiar?"

Bella's eyes widened. "Your brother was the drunk on the train!"

"Smart girl," I said and noticed James staring very intently at Bella. "Every family has a retarded relative. In my family, that's Emmett."

Bella laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Only when he's drunk," I said. "Otherwise, he's really a sweet heart and a big oaf."

Alice grabbed my arm and tugged on it. "Kitchen, now."

"Great, Emmett acts like an oaf and my sister is reverting to talking like a cave man." She pinched my arm. "Okay, okay, cave woman! Excuse me!"

"Bella, make yourself comfortable, we'll be back," Alice said with a smile. I obediently followed her into the kitchen like a little puppy. I wondered where I had left my leash and collar.

"Alice! You wanted me to be nice to your friend and then you drag me away from her. Did you see how intently James was staring at her?"

Alice went over to the butcher block and removed a knife from it. "What is going on with you two?" She waved the knife in the air at me.

"There is no reason to kill me!" I said with my hands in the air. "Put the knife down!"

"I need to cut the cheese," she said, opening the door to the refrigerator.

"It comes out of your ass, not the fridge." I turned to see Emmett in the doorway. "What the hell is going on?"

Alice rolled her eyes at Emmett while unwrapping a block of cheddar cheese. "One of you should have been my sister," she mumbled while shaking her head.

"That's Edward!" Emmett laughed while grabbing a slice of cheese. Alice slapped his hand and waved the knife at him.

"Do that again and this knife will be through your hand!" She glared at him before going back to her task.

He inched his way over toward me. "How is it that our little pint-sized sister scares the hell out of me?" he asked seriously. "More than Mom and Dad?"

"Alice means what she says," I explained. "Mom and Dad are usually empty threats."

"Edward, explain!" Alice ordered. Emmett and I helped Alice in the kitchen with various tasks while I filled her in about how Bella and I met.

"Shit, so you like her?" she asked.

"Duh." I was starting to sound as intelligent as Emmett acted. "I mean, she seems like a nice girl and I'd like to get to know her. Maybe go out on a date or something, you know? And I had no idea she was coming here or that you knew her."

Alice sent Emmett into the den with trays filled with various appetizers—cheese and crackers, shrimp, and some kind of bread bowl with a spinach-looking dip inside of it. He came back with a drink in his hand.

"Bad news, bro," he announced solemnly. "Grease monkey doctor is all up over Bella."

"What?" I quickly went and snuck over near the den and watched from a spot where no one could see me. Bella and Dr. Creepazoid were in a corner talking. He was leaning in very close to her, and she didn't seem to be fighting him off. She was even giggling at something he had just said! I walked sluggishly back to the kitchen and sat down. "Great, the great Willengrand has got her attention."

"Don't worry, Edward, you just need to have some time alone with Bella and she'll see which one of you is the better man," Alice said cheerfully.

Emmett had a far off look on his face but nodded his head. "Yeah, even I know Bella would be better off with you over Willen-whatsit."

"Why are you drinking?" I asked.

"You said to get something to drink," he replied.

"You don't need any more alcohol," I explained. "You're still hung over."

"Listen bro, Grandma keeps on wanting to pinch my cheeks. Rosie is mad at me. I've got to put up with Alice, who is five times worse than Rosie when she's on the rag." Alice growled at Emmett, and he extended his middle finger at her. "Make that ten times worse. Jasper is mad at me because Rosie is mad at me. And now, I have you with your panties in a twist over Bella. Excuse me if I need a drink right now." He emptied the contents of the glass in his hand. "Mmm, refill needed! Be right back."

Emmett turned and left the kitchen. Maybe when he came back he would give me an update on the Bella situation. Was it too much to hope that Bella realized that the man was a creep and she kicked him in the balls in the middle of the den?

Oh, yeah, just a little.

"Forget his hand. The knife is going in his head, first opportunity I get," Alice stated. "Edward, I'll figure out a way to get you and Bella alone together so you can talk. Trust me."

"Uh huh, sure." I wanted to go up to my room and sulk but I heard someone at the front door. Upon Alice's instructions—I mean, orders—I went to greet Cousin Melanie and her husband Kevin. Another peek into the den only showed me the same thing as before—Bella still talking with James. Dad was talking to Charlie and introducing him to Kevin while Mom caught up with Melanie.

Even though Alice insisted that I go into the den and try to talk to Bella, I stayed in the kitchen and busied myself with menial tasks for Alice. No matter what I did though, my thoughts still drifted to Bella and what James could possibly be saying to keep her interest. James had been establishing himself as a doctor at Arden Hill. I, however, was still trying to climb the ladder at the law firm and someday be more than just a junior associate. Why was that bothering me? From our short time together Bella didn't seem like she was materialistic. Maybe she wouldn't care that I didn't hold some prestigious title yet. I was mulling these thoughts over in my head when I was suddenly grabbed from behind. Two large hands came around me and slapped duct tape haphazardly over my mouth and then what felt like a pillow case was slipped over my head and down my frame.

"Emmett! What do you think you're doing?!" At least that's what I tried to say but my words were muffled by the duct tape.

"Shut up!" he instructed me. "You'll thank me later on."

He roughly guided me down the hallway past the kitchen that led to the garage and pushed me into an old closet where I landed unceremoniously on my ass. Mom had been cleaning out this particular closet so it was mostly empty. I knew that a few old coats were hung from the rod while a plastic shoe box was shoved into my side and a broom had fallen against the opposite wall. I was struggling to find my bearings in the dark closet so I could get the pillow case and duct tape off of me. This was not how I imagined experiencing the Easter holiday.

I was trying to shrug my way out of the pillow case but having a hell of a time. This was no regular pillow case—it must've been from Alice's body pillow! I heard voices outside of the closet door and stayed quiet in order to hear what was going on. Concentrating, I recognized Alice's voice and then Bella's. Uh oh. I didn't have a good feeling about this.

"_Edward, I'll figure out a way to get you and Bella alone together so you can talk. Trust me."_

Was this Alice's idea? To trap the two of us in a closet together? To be honest, it sounded more along the lines of something Emmett would think up. The darkness around me was invaded by light for a few moments.

"See what wonderful closet space we have?" Alice was pretending to show Bella around the house. Before Bella could utter a word, I felt her being pushed into the closet, the door quickly closed with a click behind it, and Bella landed across my lap with a yelp.

"Bella, shhh, don't yell. It's okay, it's just Edward in there with you," Alice explained through the door. "I'm sorry, we couldn't think of another way! One of us will be back soon to let you out."

Alice's soft foot steps headed back to the kitchen and then disappeared. "What the fuck is wrong with this family?" Bella muttered in the dark as she struggled to sit up.

"Mmm…grrrr… mmm," I said against the duct tape.

Bella's hands reached out for me and landed on my chest. "What the?" Her hands glided up, feeling the pillow case and realized it was covering my head. "Do you have something covering your mouth too?"

"Mmm mmm."

I felt Bella kneel in front of me. We struggled but managed to remove the pillow case from my body. It was just in time too—I was starting to experience heat exhaustion from that sucker! Her hands explored my face and found the duct tape that covered my lips. "This is going probably going to hurt."

"Mmm mmm."

"On the count of three, I'm going to attempt to pull the tape off in one quick motion, okay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Mmm mmm."

"One… two…." And she never reached three. The tape was torn from my face, ripping any stubble that I had grown with it.

"Oooouch! What happened to three?!" I rubbed the area around my mouth. "I never heard three!"

"You're not supposed to actually reach the final number," she said. "It's to catch you off guard."

"You caught me off guard alright." My face stung, and I wondered if it was bleeding but I didn't feel anything but pain.

"Now you know what it's like for women to get waxed."

"For Christ's sake, just shave!"

"We get better results from waxing and our legs are smoother, which every man seems to love."

"Then don't complain about waxing then!"

"I think I liked you better when your mouth was covered!" I felt Bella's hands reach out for me as she tried to apply the duct tape back over my mouth. I grabbed her hands in an attempt to stop her actions. "Stop fighting me!"

"Nuh uh!" I said. "That stuff is not going back on my mouth!"

"Fine, I'll just stuff it in your mouth then!"

"I'm trying to figure out why I like you." The words slipped from my mouth. Oops.

"What?" She relaxed at the same time I pulled, and we bumped foreheads. Hard. "Son of a bitch!" she cursed.

"Aren't you a little potty mouth?" I reached up and fumbled around for the light switch. Finding the switch, I flicked it on and rubbed my head where Bella had collided with me. "I'm not sure which hurts more—my head or my mouth."

"I'm hoping your head." Bella was cradling her forehead in her hands. "You've got a hard head, Sun Chip-loving guy."

I reached out and brushed my fingers against hers. "Yours isn't exactly soft like a newborn Miss Condiment-less sandwich girl. Are you okay?"

She opened her eyes and gazed at me through her fingers. "I think I'll live." Bella shifted her position from practically straddling me to sitting next to me on the floor with our backs against the wall. "Is Alice sane?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"After this little incident, I'm not totally sure about her sanity."

Bella stopped rubbing her head and turned to me. "Who the hell locks people in a closet?"

"She wanted to give us sometime to be alone together," I confessed. "Alice, well, I told her that I liked you."

She backed away from me. "So you knew about me before we met on the train?" Her voice was trembling. Bella probably thought I was a stalker.

"No, no! I never saw you, met you, heard about you, or even knew about you before the train," I said. "Honest to God, cross my heart."

"Do it."

"What?" I was confused.

Bella nodded at me. "Cross your heart." With my right hand, I drew an X across my heart, then a cross, and I even attempted to do the Catholic cross thingie when they prayed. "I think you did that last one wrong," she said.

"I honestly have no idea. You get the point though, right?" Bella nodded her head. "I talked to Alice in the kitchen and told her what happened. She noticed how we looked at each other when you walked in. Alice knew that I was smitten with you."

"Smitten?" She had leaned forward, and her chin was resting against my shoulder.

I turned my head and my lips grazed her forehead. "Yes, smitten."

"I was going to wait and call you tomorrow," she said, her voice low. "See if you wanted to get together for lunch or something. Make you sweat it out a little bit."

Yes! She was going to call me! I wanted to yell it from the rooftop… but I was kind of trapped in a closet at the moment. "I was driving myself insane because you were being left alone with James," I confessed. "I thought my one chance with you was going quickly going down the drain quicker than James's hair grease."

"Dr. Slick Rick?" Bella smiled at me. "Ugh, please, I have better taste than that."

I don't know how much time passed while we were locked in the closet. We took advantage of the time alone together and talked about a variety of things such as our childhoods, dreams, jobs, family, and questioned each other about various subjects as well. The more time that I spent alone with Bella, the more I felt myself drawn to her. She was so perfect in so many ways for me. Intelligent. Funny. Independent. Beautiful. She made me laugh, but I made her laugh as well. Still sitting next to me, I had grasped her hand in mine some time ago and she never pulled away from my touch.

We had finished our latest topic of discussion and had one of those weird lulls in conversation where you stared at each other. Her deep brown eyes were so beautiful. So dark, warm, and inviting. Bella smiled at me, bit her lip, and slid closer to me.

_Kiss her, jackass!_

Silently, Bella squeezed my hand for encouragement. At least, that's what I assumed she was doing. I leaned down closer to her, tilted my head to a better direction, lifted my hand to cup her cheek, and that's when the door to the closet quickly sprung open.

"Oh, shiiiiiit!" Emmett said excitedly while reaching in his back pocket for his wallet. He threw something at us and slammed the door shut again. "Give a yell when you're done rocking the closet!" The clicking of the lock on the door followed his voice_._

"What the hell did he throw at us?" I asked. Bella reached for the item that had flown past me, hit the wall, and fell near her. She held up the black strip and then dropped them into my lap. "Condoms!" I took them from her hand and stuffed them in the pocket of a coat that was hanging near by.

"You _are_ the only sane child in your family."

"Yes, most definitely," I replied quickly. "Emmett and Alice belong in the looney bin, that's for sure. How did you meet Alice anyhow?"

"Of all places, we met while waiting in line at the Dunkin Donuts in Goshen."

"Alice is more of a Starbucks kind of gal," I insisted. "She must have really needed the caffeine that day."

"You can say that. She actually wasn't in the mood to drive to Middletown for Starbucks. I think she had two or three shots of espresso in her iced coffee."

"Oh, I remember that day," I said. "Those espresso shots came back to haunt her. She painted three rooms here in the house that night. All by herself. I still don't know _why_ she painted them though."

Bella laughed. "I didn't know what to think of her to be honest. She seemed nice and we exchanged numbers. She called me a few times and invited me to dinner tonight."

"I'm glad she did."

"Me too."

As I was leaning in to reattempt the missed kiss, Bella shifted and her hand went to her pocket of her dark wash jeans. Pulling out a cell phone, she looked at the display. "It's a text from my dad. 'Answer me if you're not dead' it says."

"You've had your cell on you all this time and you didn't think to use it?" I asked.

Bella bit her bottom lip before continuing. "I wanted to get to know you better."

"By all means, answer your father so he doesn't call the police," I said. "And I am glad that you didn't think to call earlier."

Glancing down at the phone to text her father back, Bella smiled. "Let's see, 'Alive and well, trapped in closet with potential date' do you think that's good?"

"Potential date?"

She pressed a button on her phone and shoved it back into her pocket. "I wasn't sure if you'd want to go on a date after this little mess."

"Can we just say this was our first date and move onto the second date?" I asked. "You know, I think it'd be much easier that way."

"Does that mean you get to kiss me before we leave the closet or after?" She bit her bottom lip again, tilted her head down and looked at me through half closed lids.

"Hell, I've wanted to kiss you since before we were trapped, during our entrapment, and I'm sure that won't change after we get out of here."

A huge smile splayed across her lips. She moved quickly towards me, placing one of her legs on either side of mine, grabbed my face roughly and our lips met. I reached out and moved her closer to me as we kissed. My hands ran up her spine and I could feel her shiver. Our lips were still locked, but I heard a small moan escape from her throat and I thought I was going to totally lose it.

"We need to get out of here before I reach for those condoms without thinking." I told her while trying to catch my breath. "I don't think that'd be a good second impression on you."

Bella reached back, grabbed the coat, and removed the condoms from it. "Not for tonight," she said as she shoved them at me. "But you should most definitely keep them handy. Oh geez, did I just say that?"

"Yes, yes you really did." I said, still surprised at her actions. "Are you sure about this thing between us?"

She nodded. "Are you?"

"Yes," I replied. "I want you in my life."

She smiled. "Okay, so here's the deal." She paused, sucking in a bit of air and then started speaking quickly like when Alice is hyper from too much caffeine. We heard a crash from the kitchen and some yelling, but I shook my head so she'd continue. I was much more interested in what was happening in this small closet than anywhere else in the house. "We moved here from Washington for two reasons. My father retired from the police force and wanted a change. One of his friends talked him into checking out this area. Around the same time I had been dating someone for a while and I found him in _my bed_ in a very compromising position with someone who I had thought was my best friend. I needed to get away, and my father told me it was okay with him if I moved with him. And now a year later, here I am in New York, commuting to the city and trapped in a closet with a man I'm very attracted to but at the same time partially scared as hell about getting involved with."

"The only person we have in common is Alice," I said. "You're not going to find me in a compromising position with my own sister. I can promise you that."

"I sure as hell hope not!"

"My family isn't _that_ screwed up," I said in the most convincing tone I could muster. "Bella?"

"Yes?" Her face was only mere inches from mine.

"Can I kiss you again?"

Bella shifted slightly backwards and tapped her chin with one of her fingers. "Mmmm, can you kiss me again? I don't know about that one mister." The finger that was on her chin was now brushing against my lips before her hand slid across my face and into the hair at the back of my neck. Bella closed the short distance between us and her lips landed precisely on mine.

And then her damn cell phone rang.

"Smokey and the Bandit?" I asked while trying not to laugh.

"It's my dad. I better answer it." Bella shifted off of me and to my side. "Hey, Charlie, I'm okay." She leaned against me and I turned and buried my face in her hair. "You want me to what? Are you sure? Okay, hold on."

"Is everything alright?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know." Bella removed her cell from her ear and pressed a button. "Okay, I've got you on the speaker, what's going on?"

"I'm assuming you're in a closet with Edward?" Charlie asked. "He's the one that met us at the door besides Dr. Greasebucket?"

I loved that everyone saw right through Willengrand and had a nickname for him. "Yes, sir, that's me."

"Edward! First off, I hope you're treating my daughter with the proper respect she deserves," he said. "And how often does your family have gatherings? I want to know how often I can come over for the side show your family seems to produce."

"What?" What on earth had transpired while Bella and I were in the closet? "Sir, I can only tell you that you have a wonderful daughter. As for the side show my family seems to be, I'm not sure what you're talking about."

Charlie then went on with a very long explanation as to what had happened. He sounded so excited while explaining the events that he saw unfold before him. "Emmett continued to drink, which pissed off Rose. Willengrand saw this as an opportunity to hit on Rose, but he wasn't very sly about it. He's very Captain Obvious if you know what I mean. Emmett went up to Willengrand and told him, 'Stop hitting on my woman!' which Willengrand didn't take too kindly to. He tried to punch Emmett, but I think he broke his hand instead. That caused Emmett to get more pissed, and he yelled out, 'I bet your willie ain't that grand!' and he punched Willengrand. Oh, but the best part was that this happened in the dinning room and Willengrand ended up landing on the table and it collapsed around him. Your mother was so pissed she accidentally knocked that small aquarium over, and water spilled all over the couch and on your grandparents. I bet there's dead goldfish in your couch now. I hope you weren't too attached to any of them. Alice tried to help Willengrand up off the kitchen table, but when he reached for her he grabbed her skirt and it ripped right down the side. Jasper then went and punched Willengrand too. Alice tried to run upstairs to change but slipped on the water in the hallway and she and Melanie went down like two bowling pins. Melanie's pissed because her shirt got torn and that husband of hers was laughing at her before he even attempted to help her stand up. And that's when the earthquake happened."

Bella and I glanced at each other. "Earthquake?"

"That's what I'm calling it anyway. Rose walked right up to Emmett, punched him in the nose, and knocked him the hell out. I mean, _boom_, that nut of a brother of yours went _down_. Poor Carlisle was right behind Emmett so he was taken down too but his arms were flailing around and hit Kevin right in the groin as he was falling. Kevin knocked into Melanie and hit her in one of her boobs and she smacked him. He didn't know what appendage to grab in pain after that."

"Oh… my…. God." I couldn't believe what had gone on while Bella and I were otherwise engaged in, well, each other.

"What's the next holiday?" Charlie asked.

"Um, is it Memorial Day?" Bella supplied.

"What about the Fourth of July? Ooh, no, you have to keep Emmett away from the fireworks!" Charlie said enthusiastically. "I'm sure he'd burn _something_ down."

"I have no doubt about that anymore," I said. "He'll wear a straight jacket from now on when he's near fire or explosives."

"Bella, honey, I hate to change the subject, but where the hell are you?" Charlie asked his voice laced with concern.

"Go through the kitchen and you'll see a small hallway. Go down the hallway and before you reach the garage there's a closet." I instructed him on our location. "That's where we are."

"Okay, I'll be right there," he said and hung up on the other end.

"Freedom awaits us." Bella didn't sound quite happy with our impending freedom.

The lock clicked and the door slowly opened. Charlie found us sitting side by side, Bella leaning against me. "Well now, don't you too look awfully cozy?"

And that's when the shit hit the fan. Again. Charlie took notice of the condoms that I still had grasped in my hands. The ones that _his daughter_ had grabbed out of the coat pocket _where I had put them_. Charlie stepped forward, grabbed Bella by the hand and dragged her out of the closet, called me a sexual deviant, and slammed the door behind him.

Oh yeah, and then he locked the fucking door again.

I was trapped in the closet by myself with condoms in my hand. That was just so wrong. I wondered if Charlie still wanted to come over for the holidays. He'd want Emmett in a straight jacket, me dressed to the nines and on a dolly like Hannibal Lector, and Bella in a chastity belt.

I hurried to the door and pounded on it with my fists, effectively dropping the condoms to the floor. "Bella! Someone! Let me out of here!"

I heard Bella's voice in the distance. "I'll call you, Edward!"

Rose, her hand still swollen and on ice from punching Emmett, finally found me and released me from the prison of a closet.

Bella did indeed call me later that evening. She had talked to Charlie and told him that Emmett had thrown the condoms into the closet. He seemed to understand our predicament, and Charlie and I met over coffee before Bella and I went on our second date. I think he understood that I wasn't out to hurt his daughter because he asked if we were doing anything for Memorial Day. I simply told him to bring his own beer.

Bella and I went on a second date, and it went great. We went on our third, fourth, tenth, and twentieth date. I lost track of how often we went out. I enjoyed my time with her to the fullest extent. She had become one of the greatest joys in my life. If I wasn't with Bella, I was thinking of her and wanted to be with her.

After six months, I proposed even though I secretly worried it was too soon. Bella, with tears in her eyes, accepted my proposal of marriage and agreed to marriage in a year or two.

And then she asked if we could be released from the closet Emmett had once again locked us in.

I loved my brother and it was with his encouragement that I decided I wanted to ask Bella to marry me, but I didn't know how. That evening, while everyone had gathered to have dinner and watch a movie at the house, he managed to lock both of us in a closet upstairs. I had shown Emmett the simple ring that I thought was perfect for Bella and still had it in my pocket when our second entrapment occurred.

Although, you know, I could've really lived without my mother finding the two of us half naked when she unknowingly rescued us. Throughout our lifetime together we were locked in our fair share of closets. After Esme found us half naked, everyone learned to knock to confirm our current status before opening the door to release us.

We moved into a house together in Goshen and shared a mortgage payment. We got married, went on a wonderful honeymoon, and came home to real life. There were bumps along the way. Disagreements and quarrels. No relationship was perfect, but I loved Bella with all my heart and tried my best to make her happy.

There's a popular saying that can be found on a lot of picture frames that says 'Live, Laugh, Love'. It was like our unofficial family slogan, and that's what we tried to follow. Live to the fullest extent possible. Laugh every day. Love with all your heart.

I loved that woman until the day I took my last breath. Thankfully, I lived a very long life.


End file.
